Dancing Upon Clouds
by Shimizu Hitomi
Summary: [DISCONTINUED, chap. 1 of 5] Short and sweet. A quiet little story exploring the relationships between Hikaru, Akari, and Akira. The actual pairing is OPEN TO INTERPRETATION! Akari, Akira, or... a threesome? XD


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hikaru no Go.**

**Notes: **Yes, just a "quiet little story." Seriously, nothing really happens. There's not even any kissing, just a whole lot of serious conversation… (Watch, everyone presses the back button now…) I purposely made it ambiguous and open to interpretation, cuz to tell the truth, I'm a fan of both pairings. ^_^ (Tho I think I originally intended it as a Hikaru/Akari… There's really not enough of those around. Good ones, at least.) Oh, and it's also multi-chapter (for once), with a continuous plot (Yes, there _is_ a plot! – if it can be called that). Wow, must be on a roll lately.

BTW, everyone's twenty-ish years old here. Not that it matters… much. And the poems (and translations, which in my opinion kinda suck, but it's not like I can do better…) were taken from a site: japanpoem.com or something – I forgot. (Oops.)

                                                                              ~The Moon's Lament~

_                                                  Yasurawade                        Better to have slept_

_                                                  Nenamashi mono o            Care-free, than to keep vain watch_

_                                                  Sayo fukete                        Through the passing night,_

_                                                  Katabuku made no            Till I saw the lonely moon_

_                                                  Tsuki o mishi kana            Traverse her descending path_

_                                                                                                                        - Lady Akazone Emon_

            She often stayed up late into the night, gazing out her window at the house across the street. She wasn't sure why she still did so, after all these years.

            While he had never actually moved out to live on his own, these days he was rarely home anyway, instead always traveling everywhere, to other cities, even other countries as his job required him to. He had grown to become a very busy young man, something she could have never foreseen just ten years ago. She remembered a time when they had been so close… Yet with each passing year, she felt as if they grew further and further apart. It saddened her immensely.

            And so, night after night, she sat beside her bedroom window, watching, just watching.

            She wondered why she even bothered, when her watching was always in vain. It was a waste of time, really, time that could have been better spent sleeping or studying.

            But still she watched, and she hoped. It frustrated and confused her to no end, the fact that she was actually capable of doing such an illogical thing. She was a bright, sensible girl, not one of those weepy heroines in the romance novels her friends were always reading. So what if she was in love with her childhood playmate? So what if her friends thought the very idea absolutely romantic? She didn't intend to pine away pointlessly for something she knew she could never have.

            Tonight, though, she was tired. She had had two exams that day, and had yet another one coming up the next day. She had gone out for dinner earlier to celebrate a friend's birthday, and before that she had gone shopping for presents. She was exhausted, damn it, and she refused to squander away her time chasing after elusive dreams.

            She couldn't fall asleep.

            She sighed, stood, and opened the window slightly to let in some air. It was almost summer, but the nights were long, and unbearably stifling. It seemed to her the silver moon laughed at her from its majestic throne in the endless black sky. And she thought of the stars, hidden by the lights of the city at night, and she felt something wet trickle down her cheek.

            She had always thought her love for him was just a schoolgirl's crush, a silly infatuation. It was only recently that she had realized that Shindo Hikaru had completely and utterly stolen away her heart. To her, he had become something untouchable, a star far too brilliant, too radiant for her to grasp, no longer the sweet little boy she'd teased and needled as a young girl. She missed the old Hikaru desperately. And yet…

            Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a lone figure strolling down the sidewalk. And she gasped. And rushed downstairs.

            "Hikaru!"

            The walking man turned, startled out of deep thought. "Ahh, Akari! Don't scare me like that!"

            She felt her cheeks turning red. "Gomen, Hikaru, it's just… I thought you weren't going to be back from China until next week…?"

            He bowed his head, a bit pensively, but did not reply.

            "… Hikaru? Are you all right?"

            "Aa… I'm fine…"

            She did not believe him, but nodded. "That's good."

            An awkward silence ensued.

            At last, gathering up her nerves, she said, "Hey, Hikaru, let's walk to the park, ne?"

            "Hah?"

            "Aa… you know, just to that park we used to go to all the time…"

            "Well, I mean… isn't it kinda late? Speaking of which… why in the world are you up so late?"

            She shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "Well… I was studying. And anyway, I couldn't fall asleep, so I was just staring out the window, and I saw you, so…"

            "Oh. I… I'm sorry."

            "Oh, come on, Hikaru, there's nothing to be sorry about! It's not your fault if I can't sleep." And she hesitated before asking once again, "So, would you like to go…?"

            The man did not respond. She felt her heart sink.

            "Well… if you don't want to… I'll just…"

            "Okay."

            "Hah?"

            "Well, let's go then! I thought you said you wanted to go on a walk!"

            "Hikaru… if you…"

            "Aa… Sumimasen, I shouldn't have…" He paused, a look of sadness etched on his face. "It's just… ah… forget it."

            "Are you… sure?"

            "Hai. Let's go."

            They walked in silence. And she wondered about her friend, worried for him…

            As they entered the park, she motioned toward a bench. "Let's sit down for a while before we head back."

            Again, she received no response. He merely walked over and plopped down beside her. There they sat for a few minutes, neither speaking.

            "… Hikaru?"

            "Hm?"

            "You didn't have to come, you know."

            "Oh… that's alright. I… wanted to."

            "Oh." She was at a loss for words.

            "… Arigato, Akari."

            "… Wha?"

            He looked up at her and gave her a slight smile, tinged with sadness. "I'm… glad."

            "Hikaru?"

            "… I came back… because…"

            "… Hikaru…?"

            "… some things have happened lately, and I… I… needed some time… to think… about stuff…"

            "Hikaru…"

            "And I just thought of how… you're always worrying about me. Like Okaa-san. And… I wanted to thank you, for always being there for me…"

            She was shocked at his words, so touching, yet so terrifyingly un-Hikaru-like at the same time.

            "Aa… it's getting late. You should go home and rest, Hikaru… Let your parents know you're back…"

            He smiled again, and his smile seemed even sadder than before.

            "They already know. But… thanks, again."

            _Hikaru…Please don't be this way…_

            "And… Oyasuminasai."

            "… Oyasuminasai, Hikaru…"

            And they walked back, quiet once more.

            The moon seemed so lonely, shining down with no stars for company.

            It seemed as if it cried.

_Tsuzuku_

This chapter was inspired by the scene in one of the closing sequences (or was it an opening sequence?) where Akari's looking at the red sky and something (a bird, I'm pretty sure…) flies by… (Jeez, I have such crappy memory…*_*) It also happens to be extremely unedited and reads very choppily. O well.

Also, I have no idea if Hikaru's house is actually across the street from Akari's. I don't even remember if they're neighbors. Seriously, I don't remember at all. *sweatdrop* Gomen! (Told you I had crappy memory…)

Oh, and next chapter will be a fluffy Akira scene. I swear! Hikaru's OOCness will also be explained in further detail, I hope…

Finally, updates will be rather… sporadic. I'm busy and physics is NOT fun. Argh. Currently studying "classical field theory." Lol, it's really not as hard as it sounds. Just… sorta. It's basically a whole bunch of integrals that make my head hurt. I love my professor tho, he's cool. (He plays go! ^_^ Seriously!) But his tests are FRICKIN. HARD. (Probably because I can never remember all the damn formulas… GEE I WONDER WHY…)


End file.
